Definition.The word arthritis means inflamed
joints.I donŐt like the term arthritis,
because it sounds ominous and mysterious, and it does not tell us anything
about the cause of the inflamed joints.

Joint
pain and inflammation is one of the major causes of disability around the
world.The joints are one of the
most delicate structures in the human body and, in many people, they take a lot
of punishment.They must be
rebuilt continuously to offset the constant wear and tear that occurs,
especially on the weight-bearing joints of the body.

In
most cases, medical doctors do not address the deeper causes of arthritis.They simply prescribe pain killers such
as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDS
that have terrible side effects.This further worsens a personŐs health.

In
contrast, nutritional balancing science often allows us to identify the causes
of joint problems, and often one is able to correct the problem at very deep
levels.

TYPES OF ARTHRITIS

Arthritis
is usually classified as one of several types:

1.
Osteoarthritis.This
type is simpler than the others, and involves damage the joint cartilages, in
most cases, and the deposition of calcium or toxic metals in the joints.

2.Rheumatoid arthritis.This is often a more complex
condition.It is considered an
auto-immune condition, which means the immune system seems to attack
itself.It often causes more
deformity, and pain and inflammation often migrate from joint to joint.Some people respond to anti-parasitic
drugs such as Metronidazole for this condition.This indicates it might be due to
parasitic infection, at least in some cases.However, this drug is extremely toxic.

Our
research indicates that iron toxicity and copper toxicity may be involved.

3.Infectious arthritis.This is joint inflammation caused
by tuberculosis, or some other infection.

4. Traumatic arthritis.This is joint inflammation due to a
trauma such as an accident or injury.

5. Joint
inflammation may also occur as part of other conditions such as fibromyalgia,
chronic fatigue, psoriasis, adrenal exhaustion and other syndromes.

II.
CAUSES FOR INFLAMED JOINTS

These
may be divided into mechanical, biochemical, biological and psychological
causes:

Mechanical causes include:

1.Accidents and injuries, especially falls,
that damage the joint cartilages, the joint capsules, the intervertebral
discs, the tendons and ligaments, or other structures near the joints.

2.
Spinal misalignments or subluxations of the
joints.They put pressure on the
joints that cause pain and can cause more damage over time.These are chiropractic problems that
are quite common, and totally ignored by the medical profession.

3.
Less commonly, mechanical stress due to certain occupations or hobbies can
slowly damage the joints, even if one does not have an accident.An example is lifting heavy weights for
years for a job.Another example
is running, which is hard on the knees.

Biochemical causes include:

1.
Nutrient deficiencies.These are
extremely common.Among the most
important deficiencies that cause inflammation in the body are a low level of
omega-3 fatty acids, low vitamin D, and low zinc.These deficiencies are epidemic, even among people who eat a
supposedly healthy and balanced diet.

Raising
the level of these nutrients is an important part of every nutritional
balancing program.It can be done
with foods, to a degree, or with nutritional supplements.

2.
Toxic metals that deposit in the joints.Among the most important are calcium, iron, manganese and copper.

3.
Generalized inflammation in the body that affects the joints.

4.
A catabolic state of the body in which the body cannot rebuild the joint
cartilages fast enough to overcome the normal wear and tear on the joint
cartilages.This is common as one
ages, but also occurs in young people, at times.

Biological causes include the presence
of bacteria, viruses or parasites that damage the joint surfaces.

Psychological
causes include stress, mental rigidity and perhaps other mental
or emotional factors that occasionally play an important role in joint
problems.

If one suspects mechanical misalignment of the spine or
other bones as a cause, which is common, this will require the services of
those trained in correcting spinal and other misalignments.The remainder of thisarticle concerns biochemical,
nutritional and related causes for arthritis that are often easy to identify on
a hair mineral analysis and are often correctable using nutritional balancing
science.

III. CORRECTING JOINT
PROBLEMS WITH NUTRITIONAL BALANCING

DIET

General.Eliminating refined starches, white
sugar and other 'junk' food helps reduce chemicals in the diet and increases
nutrient levels. Better quality foods must be substituted for poorer
quality refined foods. Eating many more cooked, NOT RAW, vegetables is
very helpful.These are needed to
provide more alkaline reserve minerals.

Sugars and Yeast.Sugars in the diet can lead to
intractable yeast infections.This
may occur without specific symptoms except for aches and pains, in some
people.It is well worth
eliminating most sugars, including fruit, juices, maple syrup, honey, and even
artificial sweeteners where possible.Eliminating refined sugars is impossible without cutting out refined and
processed foods.Sugars also
unbalance calcium metabolism, stimulate insulin release and increase
inflammation, and have other detrimental effects on the body that directly cause
joint pain in some people.

Food Sensitivities.Some cases of arthritis are helped by
eliminating allergic foods. The
most common culprits are wheat and soy.In fact, I suggest everyone eliminate all wheat and soy products from
the diet. Some people need to eliminate other foods, at least temporarily.
The change of diet alone can make a huge difference, as it removes the stress
of eating nutritionally deficient or allergic foods.

Gluten Intolerance.Many people with arthritis are
temporarily gluten intolerant.They feel better without wheat, spelt, oats, barley, and rye.Unfortunately, these foods are found in
most processed and prepared items served in restaurants, bars and
elsewhere.So it takes vigilance
to learn how to avoid them.

As with all food sensitivities, the goal is to enable one to tolerate
some of these so the lifestyle need not be so restrictive.However, for a while gluten avoidance
is an excellent and simple way to assist digestion, heal the intestines and
often reduce some joint pain.

The nightshade family of vegetables.These vegetables and fruits are harmful
for everyone, and often cause joint pain in sensitive people.They include all regular potatoes,
(though some sweet potato and yam is fine), tomatoes (all types), eggplant, and
peppers, including red pepper, green peppers and all hot chiles,
as well.

Omega-3 fatty acids. The omega-3 fatty acids are extremely
anti-inflammatory and often help reduce joint pain.Most people need more of them, due to the way livestock are
fed today, among other reasons.An
excellent source is sardines, provided that one eats 3-4 cans weekly.Some other fish such as salmon and tuna
contain these oils, but they also contain too much mercury.For this reason, I do not recommend
eating any fish except sardines.This is very unfortunate, and I hope we can reduce the mercury level in
our oceans and streams.One can
also take a supplement of about 900 mg omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil.

Vitamin D. This is
another anti-inflammatory vitamin that can be very helpful for the joints.Most people need to take a supplement
of 4000-5000 iu daily.One cannot rely on sunshine or other methods to get enough
vitamin D today.

Eating Habits.Relaxing at mealtime, eating slowly and chewing
thoroughly also help one receive more nourishment from food, and this promotes
better digestion, as well.Taking
a digestive enzyme with ox bile and pancreatin is
also helpful for most people.Other digestive enzymes are not quite as good, in my experience.

Always sit at least 10 minutes
after eating before resuming daily activities.Resting for longer after a big meal is even better.

LIFESTYLE

Rest.Joint pain will usually become worse if one is tired.It is also sometimes more acute in the
morning because the adrenal glands are exhausted and need more rest to function
correctly.Most people need 10
hours of sleep.It is also best to
go to bed by 9 PM, because the hours before midnight offer better rest than
those after midnight.

Exercise And Deep Breathing.Gentle exercise a few times per week is
excellent.Too much exercise,
especially jogging, or anything that is hard on the joints, is not helpful and
can cause traumatic arthritis.

Emotional Clearing.Emotional control, mental training,
meditation, emotional clearing methods such as biofeedback, counseling and
others can help reduce inflammation in the body.This is important in some cases of arthritis, especially
those with a strong emotional component.

Other Therapies.Quality chiropractic care can be extremely
helpful for arthritis that is due to misalignment of the spine, hips, knees and
even the ankles and feet.This
type of problem is quite common, in fact.

At times, other therapies are needed, such as Rolfing or structural
integration.These are completely
compatible with a nutritional balancing program.

A Nutritional Balancing Program Using
Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis. In addition to a healthful diet and lifestyle,
most people require specific, individualized nutritional therapy to restore and
balance the body chemistry.

A complete nutritional balancing program includes a diet for oneŐs
metabolic type, about 8 or 9 carefully chosen nutritional supplements, and a
healthful lifestyle.It also
includes detoxification procedures using sauna therapy and coffee enemas, if
possible, and mental/emotional training using the Roy Masters meditation
exercise.

Sauna therapy often helpful.
Daily use of a near infrared lamp sauna up to twice daily dramatically enhances
circulation to the joints. Joints have a relatively poor blood supply
which contributes to the deposition of toxic substances in the joints.
Also, infections are more difficult to heal in tissues with poor circulation.

The heat of the sauna also helps the body fight chronic infections and
relaxes tendons and ligaments.In
addition, near infrared light itself appears to be very beneficial for healing
of the joints. Saunas also powerfully activate the organs of
elimination.This is necessary to
help carry away toxins that have accumulated over years, in many cases.
An electric light sauna can be built inexpensively at home, or purchased inexpensively. Click here for more information about saunas.

When Will I Become Well?Many cases of arthritis respond within
weeks to lifestyle and dietary changes, along with a nutritional supplement
program based on a properly performed hair mineral analysis.If the situation is chronic, months or
even several years may be needed to fully restore joint cartilages.

SYMPTOMATIC THERAPY FOR ARTHRITIS

Symptomatic
treatments for arthritis can relieve pain and increase mobility.They are rarely needed if one follows a
nutritional balancing program.Most symptomatic approaches actually delay deeper healing, and many
unbalance the body and add more toxins to the body.However, at times they are needed for a short while until
deeper correction occurs.

Drug Therapy For Arthritis. Drug
therapy for arthritic pain is a multi-billion dollar business that not only
does not cure the problem in most cases, but makes it worse in many cases by
allowing the degenerative process to progress, and by causing untold disability
and death due to the adverse effects of the drugs themselves.The side effects of anti-inflammatory
drugs causes at least 100,000 hospitalizations each year and some 10,000
deaths, according to official AMA figures.The actual figures are probably even higher as many adverse
effects are often not reported.The chronic use of pain killers is now the leading cause of liver and
kidney failure in the United States and perhaps in Europe.

Steroid Drugs. Steroid
drugs include cortisone, prednisone and similar products.These are probably the worst, if used
over a long period of time.They
tend to cause adrenal gland depletion, fatigue, bone loss and osteoporosis, and
more problems.They are powerful,
however, and can stop pain in a few minutes in some cases.Do not be misled into thinking this
means they are the best option for you.

Steroids can be injected into a joint and provide temporary
relief.At times, it will last a
few months or more.This is safer
than taking the drug orally for a prolonged period of time.Steroid creams are also safer than oral
use, but can cause skin problems and more.

Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs
(NSAIDS).These drugs, which include Motrin, Ibuprophen,
Aleve, Aspirin, Excedrin and a hundred other similar compounds, all tend to cause
gastric or stomach bleeding, kidney and liver disease and more problems.They are inexpensive and available
everywhere.However, use them only
as a last resort and sparingly, if you must use them at all.

Try nutritional products first, and use all possible natural remedies
before becoming dependent on any of these drugs.These drugs should be unnecessary if you do this.

Surgery (joint replacement).In some ways, surgery is better than
chronic self-medication with dangerous anti-inflammatory drugs.However, surgery brings its own set of
complications, such as joint dysfunction, infections, high cost, perhaps a need
for more surgery, adhesions and possible complications, including death.Always consult at least two physicians,
or better yet, several doctors, regarding the side effects of surgery or other
medical interventions.

Prolotherapy. This is an interesting remedy for a few joint
problems.It involves injecting a sclerosing solution, often sugar, into the joint.This can shorten certain ligaments,
tightening the joint and preventing further problems.It is quite specific for certain problems of cartilage
thinning, however.One must find a
qualified orthopedic doctor for this procedure, which is safer than surgery if
it is effective.

Symptomatic nutritional remedies.
Symptomatic remedies can help some joint pain, although results are not as
permanent or as good as with a complete nutritional program. A natural
anti-inflammatory remedy is Wobenzym-N, a powerful
enzyme preparation with minimal side effects.One must take a number of tablets between meals, but it is
quite effective.Anti-inflammatory
nutrients include omega-3 oils such as fish oil, cod liver oil, calcium,
magnesium and zinc.

Dietary remedies include eliminating all citrus fruits and, as
mentioned above, the nightshade family of vegetables - potato, tomato, eggplant
and peppers. Any food can cause a reaction in some individuals.

Oxygen therapies such as ozone, hyperbaric oxygen and hydrogen peroxide
can improve oxygenation of cells and remove free oxygen radicals that damage
joint tissues.Colloidal silver
and anti-infective herbs may also be useful if an infection is the cause of the
problem.Shining a single reddish
heat lamp on the affected area for 10-15 minutes at a time several times daily
may also some reduce joint pain.

While symptomatic remedies have a place in a few cases, I find the best
results will be obtained with a more integrated and individualized approach
such as nutritional balancing science.This can get to the root of many causes and eliminate them completely,
though it may take longer to work than the simple remedies above.

IV. HAIR ANALYSIS INDICATORS FOR JOINT
PROBLEMS

A properly performed and correctly interpreted hair mineral analysis can
assess more than a dozen causes for arthritis.The following are among the most common hair mineral
patterns observed with inflamed joints.

1. Elevated calcium level.A hair tissue calcium level above about
70 mg% may indicate the deposition of calcium in the joints.This is associated with a phenomenon
called biounvailable calcium.This is sometimes also called
metastatic calcium.These deposits
are hard and irritating to the joints.See the Calcium
article for more information about this cause for arthritis.

This situation is often worse as the calcium level becomes higher.If the hair calcium level is over about
165 in women or 155 in men, it is called a Calcium
Shell.

2. Copper imbalance.Copper is an anti-inflammatory nutrient
that often is associated with arthritic changes when it is out of balance.This is a very common finding today.See the Copper Toxicity Syndrome for more
information.

3. An elevated sodium/potassium ratio.A hair sodium/potassium ratio that is
above 5 often indicates excessive inflammatory hormones or some other cause of
inflammation.It may also indicate
acute stress, which may cause arthritic changes as well.

4. Low adrenal and/or thyroid
activity.Low levels
of sodium and potassium in relation to the calcium and magnesium levels in the
hair is a pattern called slow
oxidation.One can read more
about this pattern, which is extremely important for arthritis.It is associated with copper toxicity,
reduced adrenal hormone secretion at times, thyroid difficulties and other
imbalances that often cause joint pain and arthritis.

5. A fast oxidation rate.Fast oxidation is an important
inflammation pattern on a hair mineral analysis.For much more information, please read The Oxidation
Types on this site.

6. Excessive tissue breakdown.A ratio of sodium to potassium less
than about 2:1 or a phosphorus level less than 13 mg% are associated with
excessive protein catabolism or breakdown of body tissues.This can affect any tissue or organ,
but often affects some joints, particularly weight-bearing ones.

7. Elevated hair iron, manganese,
copper, lead or other toxic metals.These can contribute or directly cause arthritic problems by several
mechanisms: 1) they may deposit directly in the joints, 2) they affect the
levels of vital minerals, causing deficiencies of essential nutrients that ,in
turn, affect the joints, 3) they cause an inflammatory response, or 4) they may
replace vital minerals in key enzymes needed for joint surface repair and
activity.

An extremely important cause of arthritis is the deposition of the
amigos in the joints.These are
highly inflammatory, usually oxide forms of iron, manganese and aluminum, and
at times other metals.To learn
about this important cause of arthritis, please read The Amigos - Iron, Manganese And Aluminum on
this website.

8. Fatigue. Many indicators
on a hair tissue mineral analysis are associated with reduced levels of
adaptive energy in the body. This
indirectly contributes to some cases of arthritis because the body cannot
maintain the joints properly.

9. Sympathetic dominance pattern. This is
another common pattern seen with arthritis and other joint complaints.It is indicated on a hair mineral
analysis by a potassium level less than 5 mg% and the pattern is reinforced
when the sodium/potassium ratio is elevated above 5:1.

Sympathetic
dominance is a personality or lifestyle pattern in which a person tends to
overuse the sympathetic nervous system.This system is not designed to be used except in emergencies for short
periods of time.When one uses it
most of the time, it weakens the body substantially by interfering with
digestion, rest, elimination and other vital functions.This can easily lead to joint and many
other physical problems.For more
information about this, see the article entitled Sympathetic Dominance Pattern.

10. A calcium/magnesium ratio greater
than about 10.This
imbalance is associated with carbohydrate overload in the diet, which can cause
joint problems as well.It is also
associated with a calcium and magnesium imbalance that can cause calcium to
come out of solution from the blood and be deposited in the joints and other tissues.

11.Poor eliminator patterns on a hair mineral test. Very low hair
levels of toxic metals, and of iron, copper, manganese and chromium indicate
that a person cannot properly eliminate these toxic metals or toxic forms of
physiological minerals.This can
be another cause for joint pain.

12. Three highs or four highs pattern.This is another inflammation indicator on a hair mineral analysis.

13. Low hair zinc, or elevated hair cadmium.These are also associated with inflammation.

14. An acidic condition of the body.This is usually due to a
deficiency of the alkaline reserve minerals, and this is extremely common.For more on this, please read Acid/Alkaline Balance on this website.

15. Emotional causes.Holding on to anger, and perhaps other
emotional states, can contribute to arthritis.This is known in psychosomatic medicine.

Indicators for anger on a hair mineral analysis include an elevated
sodium/potassium ratio (more acute anger or rage), a low sodium/potassium ratio
(resentment), elevated iron or manganese (it often settles in the amygdala or rage center of the brain), poor eliminator
patterns with iron or manganese (buildup due to impaired elimination of these
metals), and possibly a fast or very slow oxidation rate.